Peer to peer wireless communication conflict resolution

ABSTRACT

In accordance with a method for wireless communication, in a coexistence system comprising a plurality of different wireless interface devices within a single integrated circuit, wherein each of the plurality of wireless interface devices utilizes a corresponding different wireless communication standard, and when one of the plurality of wireless interface devices is receiving or will receive a packet, communicating from the one of the plurality of wireless interface devices, an indication to at least one of a remaining one or remaining ones of the plurality of wireless interface devices, which enables the at least one of the remaining one or ones of the plurality of wireless interface devices to delay corresponding transmission based on the indication. The indication may include status information for the receiving of the packet by the one of the plurality of wireless interface devices.

This patent application is claiming priority under 35 USC §119(e) toprovisionally filed patent application entitled Coordination ofOperation of Common Band Wireless Interface Devices of a Host, having afiling date of May 13, 2003, and a Ser. No. 60/469,983. This patentapplication is further claiming priority under 35 USC §120 to co-pendingpatent application entitled Cooperative Transceiving Between WirelessInterface Devices of a Host Device, having a filing date of Mar. 12,2003, and a Ser. No. 10/387,249.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to wireless communication systems andmore particularly to cooperative transceiving by wireless interfacedevices of the same host device.

2. Description of Related Art

Communication systems are known to support wireless and wire linedcommunications between wireless and/or wire lined communication devices.Such communication systems range from national and/or internationalcellular telephone systems to the Internet to point-to-point in-homewireless networks. Each type of communication system is constructed, andhence operates, in accordance with one or more communication standards.For instance, wireless communication systems may operate in accordancewith one or more standards including, but not limited to, IEEE 802.11,Bluetooth, advanced mobile phone services (AMPS), digital AMPS, globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access(CDMA), local multi-point distribution systems (LMDS),multi-channel-multi-point distribution systems (MMDS), and/or variationsthereof.

Depending on the type of wireless communication system, a wirelesscommunication device, such as a cellular telephone, two-way radio,personal digital assistant (PDA), personal computer (PC), laptopcomputer, home entertainment equipment, et cetera communicates directlyor indirectly with other wireless communication devices. For directcommunications (also known as point-to-point communications), theparticipating wireless communication devices tune their receivers andtransmitters to the same channel or channels (e.g., one of the pluralityof radio frequency (RF) carriers of the wireless communication system)and communicate over that channel(s). For indirect wirelesscommunications, each wireless communication device communicates directlywith an associated base station (e.g., for cellular services) and/or anassociated access point (e.g., for an in-home or in-building wirelessnetwork) via an assigned channel. To complete a communication connectionbetween the wireless communication devices, the associated base stationsand/or associated access points communicate with each other directly,via a system controller, via the public switched telephone network, viathe Internet, and/or via some other wide area network.

For each wireless communication device to participate in wirelesscommunications, it includes a built-in radio transceiver (i.e., receiverand transmitter) or is coupled to an associated radio transceiver (e.g.,a station for in-home and/or in-building wireless communicationnetworks, RF modem, etc.). As is known, the transmitter includes a datamodulation stage, one or more intermediate frequency stages, and a poweramplifier. The data modulation stage converts raw data into basebandsignals in accordance with a particular wireless communication standard.The one or more intermediate frequency stages mix the baseband signalswith one or more local oscillations to produce RF signals. The poweramplifier amplifies the RF signals prior to transmission via an antenna.In direct conversion transmitters/receivers conversion directly betweenbaseband signals and RF signals is performed.

As is also known, the receiver is coupled to the antenna and includes alow noise amplifier, one or more intermediate frequency stages, afiltering stage, and a data recovery stage. The low noise amplifierreceives inbound RF signals via the antenna and amplifies then. The oneor more intermediate frequency stages mix the amplified RF signals withone or more local oscillations to convert the amplified RF signal intobaseband signals or intermediate frequency (IF) signals. The filteringstage filters the baseband signals or the IF signals to attenuateunwanted out of band signals to produce filtered signals. The datarecovery stage recovers raw data from the filtered signals in accordancewith the particular wireless communication standard.

As the use of wireless communication devices increases, many wirelesscommunication devices will include two or more radio transceivers, whereeach radio transceiver is compliant with a different wirelesscommunication standard. For instance, a computer may include two radiotransceivers: one for peripheral device interfacing and another forwireless local area network (WLAN) interfacing. Even though the tworadio transceivers are compliant with different wireless communicationstandards, they may occupy the same or similar frequency spectrum, thuswill interfere with each other's ability to receive inbound packets. Forexample, if one radio transceiver is compliant with Bluetooth and theother is compliant with IEEE 802.11(b) or IEEE 802.11(g), both radiotransceivers would operate in the 2.4 GHz frequency range.

In this example, if the Bluetooth radio transceiver is receiving apacket and the IEEE 802.11 radio transceiver begins transmitting apacket, the transmission will interfere with the Bluetooth radiotransceiver's ability to accurately receive the packet. Similarly, ifthe IEEE 802.11 radio transceiver is receiving a packet and theBluetooth radio transceiver begins transmitting a packet, thetransmission by the Bluetooth radio will interfere with the IEEE 802.11radio transceiver's ability to accurately receive the packet. Inaddition, concurrent transmission by both the IEEE 802.11 radiotransceiver and the Bluetooth radio transceiver may cause interference,thus corrupting the one or both transmissions.

Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus that providescooperation between two or more common band wireless interface devices(i.e., radio transceivers) of a host device to substantially eliminateinterfere caused by concurrent operations.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The peer to peer wireless communication conflict of the presentinvention substantially meets these needs and others. In one embodiment,a method for use by one peer of peer wireless interfaces devices of awireless communication device to cooperatively provide wirelesscommunications in a multiple wireless communication environment withother peers of the peer wireless interface devices begins by initiatingan atomic sequence of a plurality of atomic sequences (e.g., anoperation, or series of operations, performed by a wirelesscommunication device to participate in a standardized wirelesscommunication). The processing continues by setting a priority levelcorresponding to the atomic sequence to produce a corresponding prioritylevel. The processing continues by sensing priority level of at leastone of the other peers to produce a sensed priority level. Theprocessing continues by comparing the sensed priority level with thecorresponding priority level. The processing then continues byperforming at least a portion of the atomic sequence when the comparingof the sensed priority level with the corresponding priority level isfavorable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication systemin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication devicein accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless interface device inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of an antennasection in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of an antennasection in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a logic diagram of a method for cooperative transceivingbetween wireless interface devices of a host device in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 7 is a logic diagram of another method for cooperative transceivingbetween wireless interface devices of a host device in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 8 is a logic diagram of yet another method for cooperativetransceiving between wireless interface devices of a host device inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating cooperative transceiving betweenwireless interface devices of a host device in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a 4-wire interface betweenwireless interface devices in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a 2-wire interface betweenwireless interface devices in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 12 is a logic diagram of a method for peer to peer wirelesscommunication conflict resolution in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a communication system10 that includes a plurality of base stations and/or access points12-16, a plurality of wireless communication devices 18-32 and a networkhardware component 34. The wireless communication devices 18-32 may belaptop host computers 18 and 26, personal digital assistant hosts 20 and30, personal computer hosts 24 and 32 and/or cellular telephone hosts 22and 28. The details of the wireless communication devices will bedescribed in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 2-12.

The base stations or access points 12-16 are operably coupled to thenetwork hardware 34 via local area network connections 36, 38 and 40.The network hardware 34, which may be a router, switch, bridge, modem,system controller, et cetera provides a wide area network connection 42for the communication system 10. Each of the base stations or accesspoints 12-16 has an associated antenna or antenna array to communicatewith the wireless communication devices in its area. Typically, thewireless communication devices register with a particular base stationor access point 12-14 to receive services from the communication system10. For direct connections (i.e., point-to-point communications),wireless communication devices communicate directly via an allocatedchannel.

Typically, base stations are used for cellular telephone systems andlike-type systems, while access points are used for in-home orin-building wireless networks. Regardless of the particular type ofcommunication system, each wireless communication device includes abuilt-in radio and/or is coupled to a radio. The radio includes a highlylinear amplifier and/or programmable multi-stage amplifier as disclosedherein to enhance performance, reduce costs, reduce size, and/or enhancebroadband applications.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a wirelesscommunication device that includes the host device, or module, 18-32 andat least two wireless interface devices, or radio transceivers, 57 and59. The wireless interface devices may be built in components of thehost device 18-32 or externally coupled components. As illustrated, thehost device 18-32 includes a processing module 50, memory 52, radiointerfaces 54 and 55, input interface 58 and output interface 56. Theprocessing module 50 and memory 52 execute the correspondinginstructions that are typically done by the host device. For example,for a cellular telephone host device, the processing module 50 performsthe corresponding communication functions in accordance with aparticular cellular telephone standard.

The radio interfaces 54 and 55 each include a media-specific accesscontrol protocol (MAC) layer module, a digital-to-analog converter(DAC), an analog to digital converter (ADC), and a physical layer module(PHY). The radio interfaces 54 and 55 allow data to be received from andsent to external devices 63 and 65 via the wireless interface devices 57and 59. Each of the external devices includes its own wireless interfacedevice for communicating with the wireless interface device of the hostdevice. For example, the host device may be personal or laptop computer,the external device 63 may be a headset, personal digital assistant,cellular telephone, printer, fax machine, joystick, keyboard, or desktoptelephone, and the second external device 65 may be an access point of awireless local area network. In this example, the external device 63would include a Bluetooth wireless interface device, external device 65would include an IEEE 802.11 wireless interface device, and the computerwould include both types of wireless interface devices.

In operation, to avoid interference between the two or more wirelessinterface devices 57 and 59 of the wireless communication device, theMAC layer modules of each wireless interface device 57 and 59communicate with each other to avoid concurrent transmission and/orreception of wireless transmissions with the corresponding externaldevice if such concurrent transmission or reception would causeinterference. The methods in which the MAC layer modules communicate areillustrated in FIGS. 6-12.

For data received from one of the wireless interface devices 57 or 59(e.g., inbound data), the radio interface 54 or 55 provides the data tothe processing module 50 for further processing and/or routing to theoutput interface 56. The output interface 56 provides connectivity to anoutput display device such as a display, monitor, speakers, et ceterasuch that the received data may be displayed. The radio interfaces 54and 55 also provide data from the processing module 50 to the wirelessinterface devices 57 and 59. The processing module 50 may receive theoutbound data from an input device such as a keyboard, keypad,microphone, et cetera via the input interface 58 or generate the dataitself. For data received via the input interface 58, the processingmodule 50 may perform a corresponding host function on the data and/orroute it to one of the wireless interface devices 57 or 59 via thecorresponding radio interface 54 or 55.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the wireless interface devices(i.e., a radio) 57 or 59, where each device includes a host interface62, digital receiver processing module 64, an analog-to-digitalconverter (ADC) 66, a filtering/attenuation module 68, an IF mixing downconversion stage 70, a receiver filter 71, a low noise amplifier 72, atransmitter/receiver switch 73, a local oscillation module 74, memory75, a digital transmitter processing module 76, a digital-to-analogconverter (DAC) 78, a filtering/gain module 80, an IF mixing upconversion stage 82, a power amplifier 84, and a transmitter filtermodule 85. The transmitter/receiver switch 73 is coupled to the antennasection 61, which may include two antennas 86 and an antenna switch 87(as shown in FIG. 4) that is shared by the two wireless interfacedevices and is further shared by the transmit and receive paths asregulated by the Tx/Rx switch 73. Alternatively, the antenna section 61may include separate antennas for each wireless interface device (asshown in FIG. 5), where the transmit path and receive path of eachwireless interface device shares the antenna. Still further, the antennasection 61 may include a separate antenna for the transmit path and thereceive path of each wireless interface device. As one of average skillin the art will appreciate, the antenna(s) may be polarized,directional, and be physically separated to provide a minimal amount ofinterference.

Returning to the discussion of FIG. 3, the digital receiver processingmodule 64 the digital transmitter processing module 76, and the memory75 may be included in the MAC module and execute digital receiverfunctions and digital transmitter functions in accordance with aparticular wireless communication standard. The digital receiverfunctions include, but are not limited to, digital intermediatefrequency to baseband conversion, demodulation, constellation demapping,decoding, and/or descrambling. The digital transmitter functionsinclude, but are not limited to, scrambling, encoding, constellationmapping, modulation, and/or digital baseband to IF conversion. Thedigital receiver and transmitter processing modules 64 and 76 may beimplemented using a shared processing device, individual processingdevices, or a plurality of processing devices. Such a processing devicemay be a microprocessor, micro-controller, digital signal processor,microcomputer, central processing unit, field programmable gate array,programmable logic device, state machine, logic circuitry, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device that manipulates signals(analog and/or digital) based on operational instructions. The memory 75may be a single memory device or a plurality of memory devices. Such amemory device may be a read-only memory, random access memory, volatilememory, non-volatile memory, static memory, dynamic memory, flashmemory, and/or any device that stores digital information. Note thatwhen the processing module 64 and/or 76 implements one or more of itsfunctions via a state machine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry,and/or logic circuitry, the memory storing the corresponding operationalinstructions is embedded with the circuitry comprising the statemachine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry.

In operation, the wireless interface device 57 or 59 receives outbounddata 94 from the host device via the host interface 62. The hostinterface 62 routes the outbound data 94 to the digital transmitterprocessing module 76, which processes the outbound data 94 in accordancewith a particular wireless communication standard (e.g., IEEE802.11-including all current and future subsections-, Bluetooth, etcetera) to produce digital transmission formatted data 96. The digitaltransmission formatted data 96 will be a digital base-band signal or adigital low IF signal, where the low IF typically will be in thefrequency range of one hundred kilohertz to a few megahertz.

The digital-to-analog converter 78 converts the digital transmissionformatted data 96 from the digital domain to the analog domain. Thefiltering/gain module 80 filters and/or adjusts the gain of the analogsignal prior to providing it to the IF mixing stage 82. The IF mixingstage 82 directly converts the analog baseband or low IF signal into anRF signal based on a transmitter local oscillation 83 provided by localoscillation module 74. The power amplifier 84 amplifies the RF signal toproduce outbound RF signal 98, which is filtered by the transmitterfilter module 85. The antenna section 61 transmits the outbound RFsignal 98 to a targeted device such as a base station, an access pointand/or another wireless communication device.

The wireless interface device 57 or 59 also receives an inbound RFsignal 88 via the antenna section 61, which was transmitted by a basestation, an access point, or another wireless communication device. Theantenna section 61 provides the inbound RF signal 88 to the receiverfilter module 71 via the Tx/Rx switch 73, where the Rx filter 71bandpass filters the inbound RF signal 88. The Rx filter 71 provides thefiltered RF signal to low noise amplifier 72, which amplifies the signal88 to produce an amplified inbound RF signal. The low noise amplifier 72provides the amplified inbound RF signal to the IF mixing module 70,which directly converts the amplified inbound RF signal into an inboundlow IF signal or baseband signal based on a receiver local oscillation81 provided by local oscillation module 74. The down conversion module70 provides the inbound low IF signal or baseband signal to thefiltering/gain module 68. The filtering/gain module 68 filters and/orgains the inbound low IF signal or the inbound baseband signal toproduce a filtered inbound signal.

The analog-to-digital converter 66 converts the filtered inbound signalfrom the analog domain to the digital domain to produce digitalreception formatted data 90. The digital receiver processing module 64decodes, descrambles, demaps, and/or demodulates the digital receptionformatted data 90 to recapture inbound data 92 in accordance with theparticular wireless communication standard being implemented by wirelessinterface device. The host interface 62 provides the recaptured inbounddata 92 to the host device 18-32 via the radio interface 54.

As one of average skill in the art will appreciate, the wirelesscommunication device of FIG. 2 may be implemented using one or moreintegrated circuits. For example, the host device may be implemented onone integrated circuit, the digital receiver processing module 64, thedigital transmitter processing module 76 and memory 75 may beimplemented on a second integrated circuit, and the remaining componentsof the radio 60, less the antennas 86, may be implemented on a thirdintegrated circuit. As an alternate example, the radio 60 may beimplemented on a single integrated circuit. As yet another example, theprocessing module 50 of the host device and the digital receiver andtransmitter processing modules 64 and 76 may be a common processingdevice implemented on a single integrated circuit. Further, the memory52 and memory 75 may be implemented on a single integrated circuitand/or on the same integrated circuit as the common processing modulesof processing module 50 and the digital receiver and transmitterprocessing module 64 and 76.

FIG. 6 is a logic diagram of a method for cooperative transceivingbetween wireless interface devices of a host device. The method beginsat step 100, where one of the wireless interface devices provides anindication of receiving an inbound packet to another one of the wirelessinterface devices. For example, one of the wireless interface devicestransceives data packets in accordance with a Bluetooth standard whilethe other wireless interface devices transceives data packets inaccordance with an IEEE 802.11 standard.

The method then proceeds to step 102, where the other wireless interfacedevice processes the indication. The method then proceeds to step 104,where the other wireless interface device transmits an outbound packetin accordance with the processing of the indication. For example, theprocessing may be done to determine when the first wireless interfacedevice is receiving the inbound packet. If so, the other wirelessinterface device delays transmitting the outbound packet until the oneof the wireless interface devices has received the inbound packet. Notethat to minimize the time that one wireless interface device isreceiving packets, and hence reduce the wait time, the packet size ofinbound packets and outbound packets may be optimized in accordance withthe particular wireless communication standard.

As a further example of steps 102 and 104, the processing of theindication may be to determine whether the transmitting of the outboundpacket would interfere with the receiving of the inbound packet. If so,the other wireless interface device delays transmitting the outboundpacket until the one of the wireless interface devices has received theinbound packet. If the transmitting of the outbound packet would notinterfere with the receiving of the inbound packet, the other wirelessinterface device transmits the outbound packet while the inbound packetis being received. Note that to reduce interference; the wirelessinterface device that is compliant with the Bluetooth standard mayadaptively adjust its frequency hopping sequence to reduce interferencewith the other wireless interface device.

FIG. 7 is a logic diagram of another method for cooperative transceivingbetween wireless interface devices of a host device. The process beginsat step 106, where the wireless interface devices exchange statusmessages regarding transmission and reception of packets. Note that astatus message may be provided in response to a request from the otherwireless communication device for a particular piece of information, fora full status report, or any portion thereof. The method then proceedsto step 108, where each of the wireless interface devices process thereceived status messages. The method then proceeds to step 110, whereeach of the wireless interface devices transmits an outbound packet inaccordance with the processing of the received status messages.

In one example of the processing of the status message and transmittingof the outbound packet, the wireless interface device determines thatthe other wireless interface device is currently receiving an inboundpacket. In this situation, the wireless interface devices delaystransmitting of the outbound packet until the other wireless interfacedevice has received the inbound packet.

In another example of the processing of the status message andtransmitting of the outbound packet, the wireless interface devicedetermines that the other wireless interface device is expecting toreceive an inbound packet. In this situation, the wireless interfacedevice delays transmitting of the outbound packet until the otherwireless interface device has received the inbound packet unless thedelay would cause an interrupt for low latency real time transmissions.

In yet another example of the processing of the status message andtransmitting of the outbound packet, the wireless interface devicedetermines that the other wireless interface device is transmitting anoutbound message. In this situation, the wireless interface devicedelays transmitting of the outbound packet until the other wirelessinterface device has transmitted the inbound packet unless interferencewould be minimal or if a delay would cause an interrupt for low latencyreal time transmissions.

In a further example of the processing of the status message andtransmitting of the outbound packet, the wireless interface devicedetermines that the other wireless interface device is expecting totransmit another outbound message. In this situation, the wirelessinterface device randomizing the delaying transmitting the outboundpacket in accordance with a random transmission protocol. For example,each wireless interface device may be assigned a unique wait period whenthey detect that two or more wireless interface devices desire totransmit a packet at about the same time.

FIG. 8 is a logic diagram of yet another method for cooperativetransceiving between wireless interface devices of a host device. Themethod begins at step 112 where a first wireless interface devicedetermines whether a second wireless interface device is transmitting anoutbound packet. If, as established at step 114, the second wirelessinterface device is not transmitting, the method precedes to step 122,where the first wireless interface device transmits its packet. If,however, the second wireless interface device is transmitting, themethod precedes to step 116, where the first wireless interface devicedetermines whether transmitting its outbound packet would interfere withthe transmitting of the second outbound packet. This may be done bycomparing the transmit power level of the first wireless interfacedevice with the transmit power level of the second wireless interfacedevice. If they are similar and relatively low, the interference may beminimal.

The method then proceeds to step 118 where a determination is made as towhether the interference is of a level that would jeopardize theintegrity of the second outbound packet. If not, the method precedes tostep 122, where the packet is transmitted. If, however, there would besufficient interference, the method precedes to step 120 where the firstwireless interface device delays transmitting the first outbound packetuntil the second outbound packet has been transmitted.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating wireless interface devices 57 and 59associated with a host device 18-32 coordinating communications with twoexternal wireless devices 63 and 65. The wireless interface devices 57and 59 and the external wireless devices 63 and 65 may communicationusing any type of standardized wireless communication including, but notlimited to, IEEE 822.11 (a), (b), or (g), Bluetooth, GSM, CDMA, TDMA,LMPS, or MMPS. The external devices 63 and 65 may use the same ordifferent wireless communication standard. When the external devices 63and 65 use standards that occupy the same or similar frequencyspectrums, a conflict between concurrent communications may occur. Inother words, when the both external devices are communicating with thewireless interface devices 57 and 59 their respective communications mayinterfere with the other's communication, reducing the quality ofservice for one or both communications.

To resolve the conflict, as will be described in greater detail withreference to FIG. 12, the wireless interface devices 57 and 59coordinate the communications with their respective external devices 63and 65. As shown in the accompanying table of FIG. 9, when a conflictarises, the wireless interface devices 57 and 59 have a multitude ofresolutions. For example, when both wireless interface devices 57 and 59desire to concurrently transmit packets to their respective externaldevices 63 and 65 (i.e., concurrently includes any overlap oftransmission), the wireless interface devices 57 and 59 determinewhether a concurrent transmission would cause sufficient interferencethat would degrade one or both of the transmissions. If not, theresolution is to do nothing and concurrently transmit.

If, however, sufficient interference would exist, the wireless interfacedevices may delay one of the transmissions with respect to the other toavoid concurrent transmissions, reduce the transmit power for one orboth of the concurrent transmissions, and/or adjust the frequencyhopping of a Bluetooth compliant wireless interface device 57 or 59. Thewireless interface devices 57 and 59 may delay the transmissions basedon a priority protocol, a host protocol, a default mechanism, an ad hocmechanism, or a user defined ordering. In essence, the delaying of theconcurrent transmissions removes the concurrency such that only onetransmission is occurring at any given time. The delaying may beestablished by an equal or imbalanced staggering of the transmissions orby allowing one of the communications to complete before the other isserviced. For example, the host protocol may prohibit concurrentcommunications. As such, the communication with one of external devicesthat was initiated first will be completed before communication with theother external devices is serviced.

As a further example of the delaying of concurrent transmissions, thepriority protocol may dictate that user interface wireless devices(e.g., wireless keyboard, mouse, etc.) may have priority over datatransfer peripheral wireless devices (e.g., PDA, down loading data to acell phone, a printer, etc.). The priority protocol may also prioritizereal time communications (e.g., voice, audio, and/or video data) overdata transfer communications. In addition, the priority protocol mayindicate whether the concurrent transmissions are to be staggered orsequential.

The user defiled priority list may be based on the type of externaldevices. For example, the user may priority communications with his orher PDA over any other type of communications, followed bycommunications with the cell phone, etc. In this manner, the conflictresolution may be customized to the user's preferences.

When the conflict corresponds to one wireless interface devicepotentially transmitting data while the other wireless interface deviceis potentially receiving data, the wireless interface devices determinewhether concurrent transmission and reception would cause significantinterference. If not, the current transmission and reception isperformed. If, however, significant interference would be produced, thewireless interface device may resolve the conflict by delaying thetransmission to avoid the concurrency, delaying the reception to avoidthe concurrency, reducing the transmit power, adjusting the frequencyhopping of a Bluetooth device, process the conflict based on the hostprotocol and/or based on the priority protocol.

When the conflict corresponds to concurrent receptions, the wirelessinterface devices determine whether such concurrency would causesignificant interference. If not, the concurrent receptions areprocessed. If, however, significant interference would exist, one of thereceptions may be delayed to avoid the concurrency, one of the externaldevices may be instructed to reduce its transmitting power.

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a 4-wire interface 130 couplingthe MAC modules of the wireless interface devices 57 and 59. As coupled,two of the four wires are used by the MAC of wireless interface device59 to assert a priority level of an atomic sequence, or fragmentthereof, that it is processing and the other two wires are used by theMAC of wireless interface device 57 to assert a priority level of anatomic sequence, or fragment thereof, that it is processing. Each of theMACs senses the priority level of the other and performs a conflictresolution function as illustrated in FIG. 12. The priority on the twolines of a corresponding MAC may be as follows: [1:0] Priority level 11Level 0 10 Level 1 01 Level 2 00 Level 3

In this prioritization table, level 0 is the highest priority level andlevel 3 is the lowest. As one of average skill in the art willappreciate, more priority levels may be obtained by increasing thenumber of wires in the interface between the MACs of the wirelessinterface devices 57 and 59.

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a 2-wire interface 132 couplingthe MAC modules of the wireless interface devices 57 and 59. In thisembodiment, each of the two wires includes a coupling resistor R1 or R2,pull up resistors R3, R5 or R4, R6, and two transceive driver/bufferpairs D/B1, D/B3 or D/B2, D/B4. In this embodiment, the wirelessinterface devices 57 and 59 share the two-wire interface to exchangepriority level information. As such, the priority level is establishedto allow higher priorities to supercede lower priorities on the two-wireinterface. In one embodiment, the priority levels may be established asfollows: [1:0] Priority level 00 Level 0 01 Level 1 10 Level 2 11 Level3

In this prioritization table, level 0 is the highest priority level andlevel 3 is the lowest. As one of average skill in the art willappreciate, more priority levels may be obtained by increasing thenumber of wires in the interface between the MACs of the wirelessinterface devices 57 and 59.

FIG. 12 is a logic diagram of a method for use by one peer (e.g., device57 or 59) of peer wireless interfaces devices of a wirelesscommunication device to cooperatively provide wireless communications ina multiple wireless communication environment with other peers of thepeer wireless interface devices. The process begins at step 140 wherethe wireless communication device initiates an atomic sequence of aplurality of atomic sequences. An atomic sequence relates particularlyto the transceiving that is/will be performed by the wireless interfacedevices 57 and 59. According to the present invention, however, certainatomic sequences must have higher priority in transceiving operationsand such, in some operations, only one of the wireless interface devices57 and 59 may transceive during a particular period of time. Examples ofsuch atomic sequence operations includes, but are not limited to,Bluetooth Sniff slots for Human Interface Device (HID) devices, IEEE802.11 beacon operations, IEEE 802.11 high Quality of Service (QoS)operations, Bluetooth Park beacon operations, and Bluetooth Audiotransmissions.

As one of average skill in the art will appreciate, an atomic sequencemay include more than 1 TX/RX exchange. Examples of this are: (1) PageScan: each T_(w page scan) is considered one atomic sequence. For thecase of R0 page scan, the page scan should be broken into multiple pagescan windows, with the collaboration algorithm run at the start of eachscan window. (2) Inquiry Scan: T_(w inquiry scan) is considered oneatomic sequence. (3) Page response: The atomic sequence will only expireon connection completion or a timeout. (4) Return from Hold/Un-Park, HIDsniff: The atomic sequence does not end until an error free packet isreceived from the HID device or Sniff attempt or Sniff timeout expires.

In one embodiment, prioritization of atomic sequences may be as follows:Bluetooth Function Priority comment Page Scan (R0) Level3 Use the deadtime between WLAN activity Page scan (R1), Tpage Level2 Contend withnormal WLAN traffic scan < 200 ms Page Scan (R1), Level1 Tpage_scan >200 ms Page Scan (R2) Level1 Page Response Level0 Would be a waste toabort an ongoing connection establishment Inquiry Level3 Use the deadtime between WLAN activity Inquiry Scan Level2 Inquiry Response Level1Park Beacon Level0 Return from Hold Level0 Master-Slave Level1 SwitchReturn from Park Level1 ACL data Level1 ACL data (Tpoll Level2expiration) SCO Level3 HID active Level3 sniff slot HID low-power Level3sniff slot

Note that to provide a large amount of contiguous inactive slots, theSniff period of the Keyboard should be an integer multiple of the mousesniff period and the Sniff instances must be offset by only one frame.At the sniff interval, after receiving the first packet from the HID(Human Interface Device) device without error, the priority level forthe sniff timeout period should be lowered to level2 since any otherpackets from the HID device are not as time critical. When requesting ashorter sniff interval, due to mouse/keyboard activity, the LMP (LinkManager Protocol) should be transmitted first, i.e. at the firstreception of the master packet the LMP is transmitted.

Continuing with the logic diagram of FIG. 12, the process proceeds tostep 142 where the wireless interface devices sets a priority levelcorresponding to the atomic sequence to produce a corresponding prioritylevel. In one embodiment, the wireless interface device asserts thegiven priority for the atomic sequence on the BT_SP pins at least onehalf slot earlier than the first slot of the atomic sequence. This maybe done using a 2-wire interface or a 4-wire interface. With thefour-wire interface, four pins are used, where BT_SP[1:0] pins aredefined as two output signals from the wireless interface device 57,e.g., Bluetooth device, to indicate a priority of its present atomicsequence. WLAN_SP[1:0] pins are defined as two output signals from thewireless interface device 59, e.g., WLAN device, to indicate a priorityof its present atomic sequence. Thus, each of wireless interface devices57 and 59 receive priority data from the other of the wireless interfacedevice. The priority of these pins is described in Table 1 as:Xx_SP[1:0] Priority level 11 Level 0 10 Level 1 01 Level 2 00 Level 3

Note that level3 priority is essentially no atomic sequence in progress.

With the 2-wire interface, the interface includes a 2-pin design thatuses an open drain output for the BT_SP and WLAN_SP pins. In thisconfiguration the BT_SP and WLAN_SP signals are defined as COEX_SP[1:0].COEX_SP[1:0] are individually pulled-up to VDD using a pull-up resistor(as shown in FIG. 11). Each of the wireless interface devices 57 and 59shall assert a ‘1’ on COEX_SP pin by allowing the output to go to highimpedance. The pull-up resistors on COEX_SP will pull these signals toVDD. A device shall assert a ‘0’ on COEX_SP pin by driving the pin toground.

The priority level signal is redefined as: COEX_SP[1:0] Priority level00 Level 0 01 Level 1 10 Level 2 11 Level 3The re-definition of the priority levels is to assure that at lowestpriority the COEX_SP pins would be at high impedance.

Continuing with the logic diagram of FIG. 12, the process continues atstep 144 where the wireless interface device senses the priority levelof the other peer wireless interface device to produce a sensed prioritylevel. For example, wireless interface device 57 senses the priority ofwireless interface device 59 and vice versa. The sensing is done via the4-wire interface or the 2-wire interface. The process continues at step146 where the wireless interface device compares the sensed prioritylevel with the corresponding priority level. With a 4-wire interface,the comparing is done at the start of an atomic sequence by checking theXx_SP[1:0] bits from its peer device and determining whether it canperform its transaction based on the following rules:

(1) If (peer Xx_SP[1:0]>local Xx_SP), defer atomic sequence to next timeepoch.

(2) If (peer Xx_SP[1:0]<local Xx_SP), perform atomic sequence.

(3) If (peer Xx_SP[1:0]=local Xx_SP), with uniform probability of 50%(TBD) perform atomic sequence.

With a 2-wire interface, the comparing is at the start of an atomicsequence by de-asserting the priority level on the COEX_SP signals,checking the COEX_SP[1:0] setting from its peer device, and determiningwhether it can perform its transaction based on the following rules:

(1) If (peer COEX_SP[1:0]<local COEX_SP): Defer atomic sequence to nexttime epoch.

(2) If (peer COEX_SP[1:0]>local COEX_SP): perform atomic sequence.

(3) If (peer COEX_SP[1:0]=local COEX_SP): With uniform probability of50% (TBD) perform atomic sequence.

(4) After determining its action for the present atomic sequence thedevice shall re-assert its priority level onto the COEX_SP pins.

Continuing with the logic diagram of FIG. 12, when the comparing of thesensed priority level with the corresponding priority level isfavorable, the process proceeds to either step 148 or step 154. Theprocess proceeds to step 148 when the comparison was favorable becausethe priority of wireless interface device is greater than the priorityof its peer wireless interface device. At step 148, the wirelessinterface device performs at least a portion of the atomic sequence.Recall that an atomic sequence may include a plurality of fragments. Theprocess then proceeds to step 150 where the wireless interface devicedetermines whether it has received an acknowledgement of its performanceof the at least a portion of the atomic sequence within a prescribedtime period. If not, it re-performs the at least a portion of the atomicsequence. If it received the acknowledgement, the process continues tostep 152 where the wireless interface device determines whether all ofthe fragments for this atomic sequence have been processed. If yes, theprocess continues at step 140 for another atomic sequence. If no, theprocess continues at step 144 for the remaining fragments of the atomicsequence.

If, at step 146, the comparison was favorable because the priority ofwireless interface device is equal to the priority of its peer wirelessinterface device, the process proceeds to step 154. At step 154, thewireless interface device performs at least a portion of the atomicsequence. The process then proceeds to step 156 where the wirelessinterface device determines whether it has received an acknowledgementof its performance of the at least a portion of the atomic sequencewithin the prescribed time period. If it received the acknowledgement,the process continues to step 152 where the wireless interface devicedetermines whether all of the fragments for this atomic sequence havebeen processed. If yes, the process continues at step 140 for anotheratomic sequence. If no, the process continues at step 144 for theremaining fragments of the atomic sequence.

If the wireless interface device did not receive the acknowledgement(which may be due to a conflict with the other peer wireless interfacedevices), the process proceeds to step 158 where the wireless interfacedevice determines whether the priority of the at least a portion of theatomic sequence (e.g., a fragment of the atomic sequence) should bechanged. Note that in certain circumstances an atomic sequence may beinitiated at a given priority level, but due to the nature of the atomicsequence or the information it carries, it priority may increase ordecrease with time. In this case the device is allowed to increase ordecrease the priority of the atomic sequence and perform the rules aboveusing the new priority level.

If, at step 158 the priority is not to be changed, the process continuesat step 144 for the current portion of the atomic sequence. If, however,the priority is to be changed, the process proceeds to step 160 wherethe priority of the portion of the atomic sequence is changed. Theprocess then continues at step 144 for the current portion of the atomicsequence with its new priority level.

If, at step 146, the comparison of the priority levels was unfavorable(e.g., the priority of the peer wireless interface device is greaterthan the present wireless interface device), the process proceeds tostep 162. At step 162, the wireless interface device determines whetherto continue with the current atomic sequence or terminate it. If thedecision is to terminate, the process continues at step 140 for anotheratomic sequence. If the decision is to continue, the process proceeds tostep 164 where the wireless interface device determines whether a waitperiod has expired. Once the wait period expires, the process proceedsto step 158 to determine whether the priority of the portion of theatomic sequence should be changed. If not, the process repeats at step144 for the current portion of the atomic sequence. As one of averageskill in the art will appreciate, the wait period is set in an effort toallow the conflict to pass. As one of average skill in the art willfurther appreciate, the change priority determination may precede thewait period determination when the peer's priority level is greater.

In general, the process of FIG. 12 enables a wireless interface deviceto perform the priority-based algorithm for every PDU (Protocol DataUnits) making up a message. At the start of the message (e.g., an atomicsequence), the wireless interface device shall assert WLAN_SP signals toindicate the priority of the message, the WLAN does not need tode-assert the WLAN_SP signals until the last fragment of the message hasbeen transmitted and acknowledged. Note that the parameteraFragmentThreshold is chosen such that the maximum fragment size duringBluetooth activity is less than 1.25 ms (e.g., 625 μsecs). This willensure that in the worst case a single Bluetooth frame can be occupiedwith a message of lower priority.

The preceding discussion has presented a method and apparatus forcooperative transceiving between wireless interface devices of a hostdevice. By enabling the wireless interface devices to communicatedirectly with each other, interference between them may be reducedand/or avoided. As one of average skill in the art will appreciate,other embodiments may be derived from the teachings of the presentinvention without deviating from the scope of the claims.

1-19. (canceled)
 20. A method for wireless communication, the methodcomprising: in a coexistence system comprising a plurality of differentwireless interface devices within a single integrated circuit, whereineach of said plurality of wireless interface devices utilizes acorresponding different wireless communication standard, and when one ofsaid plurality of wireless interface devices is receiving or willreceive a packet, communicating from said one of said plurality ofwireless interface devices, an indication to at least one of a remainingone or remaining ones of said plurality of wireless interface devices,which enables said at least one of said remaining one or ones of saidplurality of wireless interface devices to delay correspondingtransmission based on said indication.
 21. The method according to claim20, wherein said indication comprises status information for saidreceiving of said packet by said one of said plurality of wirelessinterface devices.
 22. The method according to claim 20, wherein saidcorresponding different wireless communication standard comprises one ormore of Bluetooth, 802.11b, 802.11g, GSM, CDMA, TDMA, LMPS, and MMPS.23. The method according to claim 20, comprising transmitting anoutbound packet by said at least one of said remaining one or ones ofsaid plurality of wireless interface devices based on said indication.24. The method according to claim 20, comprising determining when saidone of said plurality of wireless interface devices will receive aninbound packet.
 25. The method according to claim 24, comprisingtransmitting an outbound packet by said at least one of said remainingone or ones of said plurality of wireless interface devices based onsaid determination.
 26. The method according to claim 20, wherein a sizeof said packet is optimized to reduce a wait time for said at least oneof said remaining one or ones of said plurality of wireless interfacedevices.
 27. The method according to claim 20, wherein said at least oneof said remaining one or ones of said plurality of wireless interfacedevices determines whether its corresponding transmission will interferewith said receiving of said packet by said one of said plurality ofwireless interface devices.
 28. The method according to claim 27,wherein said at least one of said remaining one or ones of saidplurality of wireless interface devices transmits a corresponding packetwhen it is determined that its corresponding transmission will notinterfere with said receiving of said packet by said one of saidplurality of wireless interface devices.
 29. The method according toclaim 20, comprising adaptively adjusting a frequency hopping sequenceby said one of said plurality of wireless interface devices to reduceinterference with said at least one of said remaining one or ones ofsaid plurality of wireless interface devices, if said one of saidplurality of wireless interface devices comprises a Bluetooth interface.30. A system for wireless communication, the system comprising: a singleintegrated circuit for use in a coexistence system, said singleintegrated circuit comprising a plurality of wireless interface devices,wherein each of said plurality of wireless interface devices utilizes acorresponding different wireless communication standard, and whereinwhen one of said plurality of wireless interface devices is receiving orwill receive a packet, said one of said plurality of wireless interfacedevices communicates an indication to at least one of a remaining one orremaining ones of said plurality of wireless interface devices, whichenables said at least one of said remaining one or ones of saidplurality of wireless interface devices to delay correspondingtransmission based on said indication.
 31. The system according to claim30, wherein said indication comprises status information for saidreceiving of said packet by said one of said plurality of wirelessinterface devices.
 32. The system according to claim 30, wherein saidcorresponding different wireless communication standard comprises one ormore of Bluetooth, 802.11b, 802.11g, GSM, CDMA, TDMA, LMPS, and MMPS.33. The system according to claim 30, wherein said at least one of saidremaining one or ones of said plurality of wireless interface devicestransmits an outbound packet based on said indication.
 34. The systemaccording to claim 30, wherein said one of said plurality of wirelessinterface devices determines when said one of said plurality of wirelessinterface devices will receive an inbound packet.
 35. The systemaccording to claim 34, wherein said at least one of said remaining oneor ones of said plurality of wireless interface devices transmits anoutbound packet based on said determination.
 36. The system according toclaim 30, wherein a size of said packet is optimized to reduce a waittime for said at least one of said remaining ones of said plurality ofwireless interface devices.
 37. The system according to claim 30,wherein said at least one of said remaining one or ones of saidplurality of wireless interface devices determines whether itscorresponding transmission will interfere with said receiving of saidpacket by said one of said plurality of wireless interface devices. 38.The system according to claim 37, wherein said at least one of saidremaining one or ones of said plurality of wireless interface devicestransmits a corresponding packet when it is determined that itscorresponding transmission will not interfere with said receiving ofsaid packet by said one of said plurality of wireless interface devices.39. The system according to claim 30, wherein said one of said pluralityof wireless interface devices adaptively adjusts a frequency hoppingsequence for said one of said plurality of wireless interface devices toreduce interference with said at least one of said remaining one or onesof said plurality of wireless interface devices, if said one of saidplurality of wireless interface devices comprises a Bluetooth interface.40. The system according to claim 30, wherein said plurality of wirelessinterface devices each comprise a sub-circuit of said single integratedcircuit.
 41. The system according to claim 30, wherein at least one ofsaid plurality of wireless interface devices comprises a plurality ofcircuit modules.
 42. The system according to claim 41, wherein saidplurality of circuit modules comprises two or more of a receiverprocessing module, a transmitter processing module, a host interfacemodule, an analog-to-digital conversion module, a digital-to-analogconversion module, a filtering module, a downconversion module, anupconversion module, a local oscillation module, a signal amplifiermodule, a receive filter module, a transmit filter module, areceive/transmit switching module, and a memory module.